74- w - sumed a stronger role, Suharto has giv- en more of his personal attention to dis- entangling the military bureaucracy and reducing its spheres of power. He ha" spoken recently, for example, of re- ducing the influence of the military in commercial spheres-though not much has been done about this-and he has ordered all military men not perform- ing military duties to get out of uni- form. He has eliminated or curtaIled the non-military functions of his service chiefs except where special circum- stances exist, as in East --. J a va, and has taken im- portant neW steps to clean up the remnants of Su- karnoism in those services that have been reluctant to cleanse themselves- most notably the police. The effect of this slow establishment of orderly procedures has been mani- fest in many ways. Among other things, there has been an improvement in communicatIon between Suharto's government and foreign embassies- particularly the American Embassy, which for a time after Suharto's as- sumption of power was cut off from real contact with him by his private military staff, which has now been -. abolished. Unless the larger problems of polit- Ical reconciliation are also confronted, along with those of improving the economy and instituting social justice, and unless new social and political ele- ments, particularly those involving young people, are given fuller outlets for their energies, the seeming lassitude that still permeates post-Sukarno Indo- nesia could very well be transformed in to fresh conflict before the 1971 elec- tions. It is one thing to want to avoid a resurgence of the old political styles and formulas; it is quite another to seek 48th ST. to contain political activity in the inter- in Hotellexington ests of balanced budgets and financial solvency. Indonesia's potential role as the chief stabilizing force in Southeast Asia-a role that is theoretically justi- fied by its large population and its great undeveloped wealth-will depend not only on the nation's production and prosperity but on its ability to assume positive leadership. Tllls ability can be developed only through significant in- ternal political development, which must closely accompany economic re- ju venation. Then, there must be thor- oughgoing participation in the regional activities that are getting under way in Southeast Asia. The country has al- readv begun-though with some hesi- tation abouf making firm promises, es- "\ ";.. " "'. ">.. '" f,þ;. ",:." : : ,- \" ::' 1!;'::i :c... /< ..,,;' - \ L ....., /,\ . '" .....,-%. .:.: .. '""... " .-'- .. 1. J'. .:::: ::::. ':::.:.' ". ,,4' Cool cascades of faceted beads spill down the main strip of a breezy Italian sandal by Amalfi. White, pink blue or yellow leather 16.00 At all lord & Taylor stores NOW AT just e of lex. Ave. ANTIQUES DECORATIONS REPRODUCTIONS OBEliSK 133 EAST 56'1" STREET NEW YORK. N.'l,,:JOO22/758-4080 PRISCILLA LAWRANCE/PHILLIP AUSTIN pecially militar) ones-to reënter the Southeast Asian community through organizations like the AssocIation of Southeast j\sian Nations (.Lt\SEAN), which also includes Singapore, ThaI- land, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It has reëntered the United Nations and its affiliated organizations. It ha" shown that it is no longer afraid to speak out against what other nations do or fai] to do, expressing criticism of United States actions in Vietnam and of SovIet actions in Czechoslovakia If, after the Vietnam war is ended, there IS to be a "third force" in Asia, and if, as many intelligent political moderates in the area hope, such a force is to remain both non-alIgned and essentially Socialist in orientation, what is cur- rently happening in Indo- nesia is, in all probability, more Important than what is happening in Vietnam, where the political situa- tion is likely to remaIn unresolved for some tIme to come. In 1969, there seem to be two al- ternatives for Indonesia. One is in- creasingly strong military rule, wlllch, if something should happen to Suharto, could pose a real danger of an Army dictatorship-a situation in which the chances of a Communist resurgence would be greatly increased. The other alternative IS for some enlightened sys- tem of authoritarian government to continue indefinitely, gradually ap- proaching closer and closer to a normal parliamentary form. The importance of foreign aid in encouraging the mod- ernist elements in Indonesian society- the economic experts and those look- ing ahead to political programs that will be longer on meaning than on mystique-cannot be overestimated. The greater the amount of aId that can be devoted to specific projects for gen- erating and improving employment op- portunities, above all in the agricultural sector during the initial recovery phase, the more the position of the modernists will be strengthened. This, in turn, will attract more aId from abroad, and help to establish a healthy relationship with other nations-particularly with the United States, which will be seeking to reduce its military commitments in Southeast ASIa without abandoning its friends. This IS the primary challenge that the New Order of Suharto faces today, and it is not an exaggeration to say that much of the future of South- east Asia depends on how the challenge is met. -ROBERT SHAPLEN (ThÜ IS the last of a series of articles.)